Laughing Gull

The Laughing Gull is a small, black-hooded Gull that has become very friendly with humans. You can find them on islands, where they often beg for handouts around picnic spots and small fishing boats.

About Laughing Gulls

In the past, these birds were steadily decling as their coastal habitats were being damaged and destroyed. Now their numbers are on the rise and their range is steadily expanding. The nesting colonies of these vibrant Gulls were almost eradicated from the north-eastern United States in the 18th and 19th centuries as a result of excessive egg and plume hunting practices.

For people living in the Atlantic or the Gulf coasts, the head tossing and the distinctive laughing calls of these lovely birds are beautiful signs of the arrival of spring. Their breeding season begins in mid-April. During this time you can see them on salt marshes and sandy beaches. The bright heads of Laughing Gulls gleam in the sun, and they perform elegant courtship displays and dances that make spotting them a beautiful experience.

Laughing Gulls need to be very careful with choosing their breeding habitats because they are very susceptible to human disturbance and predation. Hence, they generally choose small islands that are not accessible to predatory mammals. These birds also need to consider the possibility of tidal flooding while selecting islands. Most times, one of their habitat-related priorities has to be compromised.

Some populations of Laughing Gulls have adapted to feeding on mowed fields and landfills that surround airports. Interestingly, as a result of this, they have become a flight hazard and their populations near major airports are being controlled. Don’t these vibrantly plumed seagulls seem interesting and fun? Let’s learn a little more about them.

● Laughing Gull Photos, Color Pattern, Song
● Laughing Gull Size, Eating behavior, Habitat
● Laughing Gull Range and Migration, Nesting

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Laughing Gull Color Pattern

Laughing Gulls undergo a number of molts before they become adults. After becoming adults they have two molts: one during the breeding season (summer), and the other during winters.

Juvenile Laughing Gulls have a complete tail band, a gray wash at the back of their necks, and a brown head, body, and wings. During their first winter, these younglings look similar to their first plumage, except that their back and flanks acquire a gray color.

During the second breeding plumage, these birds acquire a partial black hood and some spotting on their tails. In the following breeding seasons, this hood will transform into the vibrant black hood these birds are known for.

In their second winter, the plumage of these birds is similar to their second summer plumage, but they lack the black hood and they begin developing a gray wash on the sides of their breast.

Adult Laughing Gulls have white underparts, black outer primaries, and slate gray wings. By this time, the gorgeous, striking black hood is fully formed. To reach their adult plumage, Laughing Gulls take about 3 years.

These birds don’t usually have molting strategies that differ according to their geographical variation or sex. There might be some differences in the molting strategies of various populations, but these differences are in latitude and climate.

Description and Identification

These striking Gulls are quite easy to identify due to their unique physical characteristic. As mentioned before, their distinctive black hood is a dead giveaway. During summers, their shining black hoods are unmistakable, and enthusiastic birdwatchers can easily sight these birds and enjoy their calls.

You can usually find these Gulls in colonies, but they are really noisy. They are not as noisy as their relatives the Franklin’s Gulls, but you can hear their noises from 1-2 kilometers away.

These birds are extremely vocal, so one will probably hear these birds before sighting them. Almost every display performed by these gulls is accompanied by some sort of vocalization. Prior to migrating to their breeding grounds, these Gulls produce especially long flight calls.

Laughing Gull Song

The first vocalization made by these Gulls is when the hatchlings are working on the eggshells they just hatched from. These are 1 or 2 note long cheep-calls. As the hatchlings grow, these calls become longer and louder. This call further progresses into a contact call.

A softer cheep is often directed at their parents or siblings to stimulate feeding. By the time these chicks are around 4 days old, this develops into a begging call which becomes louder as the chicks grow.

As Laughing Gulls become older they develop a number of different calls that serve various purposes. “Kuk-ku-kuk-kuk” is their alarm call, which is repeated with a loud intensity to alert others of imminent danger. Once an individual begins this call, a group of Gulls in their vicinity join them. If the danger is not that great, they make a softer “kow” call.

While in flight, these birds often make a “U-ah U-ah” call. One of their most distinct calls is the long call, which begins with a number of high-pitched notes when their head is fully extended upwards. The call sounds like a “keeeaahhhhh”. As these birds change the position of their heads while making this call, the pitch, and intensity change.

Laughing Gulls make a number of other calls when they are protecting their nests, making courtship displays, or engaging in sexual behavior. These birds are so vocal that they also have a distinct call for when they are landing.

Laughing Gull Size

In comparison to other Gulls, these birds are medium-size. On average, adults are 14-16 inches long and have a wingspan between 39-43 inches. Laughing Gulls generally weigh between 7.2-13.1 ounces.

There is a very slight sexual dimorphism with Laughing Gulls, since the males are only about 1-5% larger than females. They have long beaks and short necks. They live in the warmer parts of their range and are usually slightly smaller in size.

Laughing Gull Behavior

Laughing Gulls are holistically agile birds that are quite noisy and aggressive. These quarrelsome birds have a tendency of stealing the prey hunted by other birds. Strangely, they also feed on the younglings and eggs of several birds, including birds of their own species.

These highly gregarious birds are often in groups on agricultural fields, beaches, landfills, and parking lots. In terms of their feeding, they are very opportunistic. They often hover over Pelicans, waiting for them to accidentally drop their food. The long call is to claim their territory or threaten other birds. If they wish to indicate submissiveness, they turn their head away from their rivals.

These birds form strong pair bonds that mate together for several breeding seasons. Juvenile Laughing Gulls are vulnerable to predation by Herring Gulls, Great-backed Gulls, Harriers, and a variety of Owls.

Laughing Gulls always reside in regions with an abundant supply of water, which they use to bathe frequently, and hunt prey. They bathe individually and in groups. Bathing can last for up to 15-20 minutes, and then they extensively preen for an average of 20 minutes. If the parent is not incubating, then the preening can last for longer.

These birds usually hunt by day and sleep frequently throughout the day. They sleep in their colonies, and also in loafing grounds which are in close vicinity to their breeding habitats. Breeding colonies always have larger numbers during the night as compared to the day, as gulls spend their days roosting in nearby spots, or hunting for prey. During the breeding season, Laughing Gulls also begin to hunt frequently at night, especially at midnight.

As these birds are quite aggressive in nature, they use a number of displays to threaten their opponents. They commonly circle, mob, and dive-bomb their opponents. Laughing Gulls strategically fight their opponents by always maintaining a higher elevation.

Laughing Gull Diet

These opportunistic gulls include a wide variety of food into their diet. This diet mostly includes aquatic and terrestrial invertebrates such as flying insects, ants, beetles, snails, crabs, fish, crab eggs, hatchlings of several birds, earthworms, and squid.

Other than this, they also include a few berries such as mulberries and blueberries into their diet. Their diet is also highly dependant on the season. Laughing Gulls also procure some food from man-made sources such as trash from
fishing boats, sewage, garbage, and any scraps offered to them by humans.

Laughing Gull Habitat

These Gulls live primarily in coastal habitats, but are rare in inland waters. Mangroves, beaches, agricultural fields, and landfills near the coast are sites they generally inhabitate. They nest in secluded areas such as beaches, salt marshes, and islands that provide them safety from mammalian predators.

Laughing Gulls can be in colonies of almost 25,000 birds. Their colonies might also include American Oystercatchers, Black Skimmers, and other larger Gulls. During winter, they are more commonly found in estuaries and bays, and sometimes on inland lakes.

Range and Migration

Laughing Gulls generally breed along the Atlantic coastlines. Their breeding range extends southwards from north-central Maine towards Georgia, goes along the coast to Florida, and westwards from the Gulf Coast to southern Texas. Breeding colonies within this area are distributed locally.

Laughing Gulls are migratory birds that winter southwards to North Carolina. Their winter range often also includes their breeding range. The Pacific coast in Middle America is one of the most populated wintering locations.

Rarely, laughing Gulls winter towards New Jersey, or further northwards from there. Small numbers of these Gulls are often sighted on the Salton Sea in southern California.

Laughing Gull Lifecycle

Laughing Gulls form pairs right before their arrival at the breeding sites. They lay eggs between April and May. On average, these gulls lay about 3 eggs which are 1.8-2.4 inches long and 1.3-1.6 inches wide. These eggs are brown and pointed at one end. The incubation period lasts for about 22-27 days, after which nestlings hatch covered in down that camouflages them to their surroundings. These nestlings take about 35 days to fledge. Younglings, and parents remain near the colonies for these 5 weeks, and then they disperse along the coasts until it’s time to migrate towards their wintering habitats. Usually, Laughing Gulls raise only 1 brood annually, but in case their first brood fails, they might attempt to re-lay eggs. On average, Laughing Gulls survive for 238 months.

Nesting

They nest in large colonies and usually place their nests on rocks, sand, and amongst dead vegetation. Nests are often placed on high spots to reduce the change of flooding. Flooding is a major concern because of unpredictable tides and storms.

Both sexes are involved in building the nest. If males are unable to find a mate before reaching their breeding sites, they may begin the process of nest-building to attract a mate. Males are usually responsible for gathering materials while the female carefully arranges them.

The nest is a cup of vegetation and grasses that is 2.5 inches deep, and 6 inches in diameter. Often this nest is attached to or surrounded by vegetation so that it doesn’t get swept away if flooding occurs. If the nest is soaked, the parents add more material as required.

Anatomy of a Laughing Gull

These medium-sized Gulls have a balloon-like figure. Their beaks are long, and their tail is of a moderate length. These gulls mostly assume an upright position.

Final Thoughts

The most interesting feature about these birds is their highly vocal nature. Considering how many calls they have, it must be very hard to sight them when they are not vocalizing.

These gregarious birds are also particularly aggressive and territorial. It seems like a birdwatcher might witness an especially interesting scene if they spot these birds.

Ornithology

Bird Watching Academy & Camp Subscription Boxes

At the Bird Watching Academy & Camp we help kids, youth, and adults get excited and involved in bird watching. We have several monthly subscription boxes that you can subscribe to. Our monthly subscription boxes help kids, youth, and adults learn about birds, bird watching, and bird conservation.

Bird Watching Binoculars for IdentifyingLaughing Gulls

The most common types of bird watching binoculars for viewing Laughing Gulls are 8×21 binoculars and 10×42 binoculars. Bird Watching Academy & Camp sells really nice 8×21 binoculars and 10×42 binoculars. You can view and purchase them here.

Laughing Gull Stickers

Stickers are a great way for you to display your love for bird watching and the Laughing Gull. We sell a monthly subscription sticker pack. The sticker packs have 12 bird stickers. These sticker packs will help your kids learn new birds every month.

Bird Feeders ForLaughing Gulls

There are many types of bird feeders. Bird feeders are a great addition to your backyard. Bird feeders will increase the chances of attracting birds drastically. Both kids and adults will have a great time watching birds eat at these bird feeders. There are a wide variety of bird feeders on the market and it is important to find the best fit for you and your backyard.

Bird HousesForLaughing Gulls

There are many types of bird houses. Building a bird house is always fun but can be frustrating. Getting a bird house for kids to watch birds grow is always fun. If you spend a little extra money on bird houses, it will be well worth every penny and they’ll look great.